John Selden, Esquire, Jurist and Antiquary

Art Historical Context

This stipple print portrays John Selden, the influential seventeenth-century English jurist, scholar, and antiquary whose writings on law and history shaped legal thought during a turbulent era. Created between 1751 and 1775 by Samuel Freeman after an original portrait by Sir Peter Lely, the image captures Selden’s dignified presence, reflecting Lely’s signature style of elegant, character-rich portraiture favored by the English court and intellectual elite. Freeman’s stipple technique, which builds form through delicate dots rather than lines, lends the small plate (22.8 × 15 cm) a soft, luminous quality that was especially prized in eighteenth-century reproductive prints. Such engravings allowed wider audiences to encounter celebrated likenesses of historical figures like Selden, preserving their legacy long after the originals were painted. Now part of the National Gallery of Art’s Rosenwald Collection, this work highlights the enduring appeal of British portraiture and the vital role of printmaking in disseminating cultural memory.